BLM Announces Three Selections for National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board (03-27-13)

The Bureau of Land Management announced today that the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture have made selections for three positions on its National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. Timothy J. Harvey of Campton, New Hampshire, has been re-appointed for the position representing Humane Advocacy; Rick Danvir of Evanston, Wyoming, has been appointed for the category of Wildlife Management; and John Falen of Orovada, Nevada, has been appointed for the position representing Livestock Management. Each individual will serve a three-year term on the Advisory Board.

Mr. Harvey, owner of the Merry-Go-Round Pens, LLC, Western Safety Stirrups, LLC, and Journey Horses Farm, has been a horse professional and experienced trainer for the past 20 years. An established clinician who organizes training seminars and clinics with several top trainers, Mr. Harvey specializes in colt starting and foundation training based on natural horsemanship and traditional vaquero (cowboy) training methods. Mr. Harvey is an innovator who has also operated a therapeutic riding program centered on fostering the emotional well-being of victims of abuse and people with anger-management issues.

Mr. Danvir is a professional wildlife biologist with a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in Wildlife and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Technology from State University of New York. Currently working with the Deseret Land and Livestock ranch – a northern Utah operation known for its multiple-use management of wildlife and domestic livestock – Mr. Danvir is Wildlife Manager for Deseret Western Ranches. Mr. Danvir is affiliated with several wildlife-related organizations, including the Utah Wildlife Board, the Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Association, the Utah Foundation for Quality Resource Management, the Society for Range Management, the Center for Holistic Resource Management, and the Nature Conservancy.

Mr. Falen, a graduate of the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Husbandry, is a longtime advocate of responsible wild horse management and has spent years dealing with wild horse issues, both on and off the range. He has 20 years’ experience serving on numerous boards and committees regarding wild horse management, including the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) and the Public Lands Council’s Wild Horse and Burro Committee. A respected leader in the livestock community at both the state and national levels, Mr. Falen is Past President of the Public Lands Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. (Mr. Falen, a member of the MHF Board of Trustees, will recuse himself from issues concerning MHF, which is a BLM partner in promoting public adoptions of wild horses and burros.)

The nine-member National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board advises the BLM, an agency of the Interior Department, and the U.S. Forest Service, part of the Agriculture Department, on the management, protection, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands and national forests administered by those agencies, as mandated by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Members of the board, who represent various categories of interests, must have a demonstrated ability to analyze information, evaluate programs, identify problems, work collaboratively, and develop corrective actions.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.